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Maryland Dems get Hogan support on abortion vote

Capital (Annapolis, MD)

MarylandDemocrats on Thursday called for a state constitutional amendment to guarantee a woman's right to abortion - and Gov. Larry Hogan said he would support an effort by House Speaker Michael E. Busch to let voters decide.

The Republican governor, who has long expressed personal opposition to abortion, reacted to news of Busch's plans to try to put the abortion issue on the 2020 ballot even before leading Democrats could stage a news conference to call on him to support Busch's proposed constitutional amendment.

A spokesman for the governor's campaign said that while Hogan doesn't know that a constitutional amendment is necessary, he is comfortable with the idea of putting it on the ballot and trusts that voters would make the right decision. The spokesman did not say whether the governor would support the substance of the amendment.

The Maryland Democratic Party held a phone-in news conference Thursday afternoon aimed at highlighting the governor's past support for government restrictions on abortion. It included lieutenant governor candidate Susan Turnbull, appearing on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous.

"We are the only ticket that will make this a priority regardless of what happens in Washington," Turnbull said. "Saying he would let the voters decide isn't enough. . . . How would Larry Hogan vote on this ballot question?"

Others who joined Turnbull on the call were Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Kathleen Matthews, former gubernatorial candidate Krish Vignarajah and state Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk of Prince George's County.

Busch, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, said his call for the amendment had not been coordinated with the party's efforts. He said the governor had promised not to make abortion an issue during his first term and had kept his word.

"I see no reason he wouldn't support a constitutional amendment [vote] to let the voters decide in 2020," Busch said. "There's a lot of Republicans who would support putting it to referendum as well."

Women's abortion rights have been firmly protected under Maryland law since voters in 1992 decisively passed a referendum question protecting freedoms gained under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. However, that referendum did not write that decision into the state's Constitution, where it would be more difficult to dislodge.

The 1992 vote essentially moved the abortion issue to the margins of Maryland Democratic politics for more than 25 years. In recent years, pollsters haven't bothered to ask about the issue because it seemed to be settled in Maryland.

But new concerns have arisen among Maryland abortion rights advocates since the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy and President Donald Trump's nomination of U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanagh to the high court.

Kennedy has been the swing vote on the court on abortion, coming down on the side of upholding the Roe v. Wade precedent. Abortion opponents are hopeful that Kavanagh, if confirmed, will provide the fifth vote needed to overturn Roe and return to the states the decision on whether to allow or prohibit abortions.

Democrats, including Jealous, have called on Hogan to publicly oppose the Kavanagh nomination - something the governor has refused to do. Instead Hogan has remained silent on the nomination as he's run his own re-election campaign.

In pushing the abortion issue, Maryland Democrats are hoping a strategy that didn't work for them in 2014 is more successful in 2018.

Four years ago, with then-Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown as their nominee, Democrats warned that Hogan would turn back the clock on social issues including abortion. They seized on statements by Hogan dating back to the 1980s supporting curbs on abortions.

Polling in the past found that Maryland voters strongly supported abortion rights, but Hogan won in 2014 by concentrating on bread-and-butter economics and avoiding social issues.